English abstract
This study aims to describe and analyze the Omani Arabic daily newspapers'
treatment of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) from 25th February 2020 to
1st June 2022 and reveal the characteristics of the coverage provided by these
newspapers regarding the coronavirus pandemic. Moreover, the study explains the
impact of the media system in Oman on journalistic practices during the pandemic
from the journalists’ perspective. The study relied on Agenda-Setting theory and
the Media Systems approach as its theoretical framework. It employed two main
tools: content analysis and structured interviews with selected journalists from Al
Watan Newspaper and Oman Daily Newspaper.
The study came up with several findings, most notably: the studied newspapers’
interest in covering the COVID-19 pandemic reached one-third (21%) of the total
area of the two newspapers during the study period, as the number of published
materials reached about 5444 materials. The news topped the list of published
materials, and their percentage reached (63%) during the study period. The study's
results also confirmed that the Omani dailies in this study were primarily concerned
with covering events and topics of a national nature at a rate of (49%). The
coverage of (Covid-19) by the studied newspapers relied on news agencies at a
rate of (32%) of the total published materials.
The study also revealed the large and almost complete control of the government
over the flow of information during coverage of the pandemic in terms of activating
official channels, selecting official spokespersons for some institutions such as the
Ministry of Health and the Supreme Committee, and identifying specific sources for
obtaining information such as the Oman News Agency and pandemic-specific
applications, to make the coverage harmonious and compatible. So, that
newspapers adhere to one path in line with directives and instructions. The study
identified several factors influencing the setting of the pandemic topics from the
journalists' perspective, foremost among which were the procedures set by the state
in managing the pandemic in general and in the field of media in particular, as well
as the policies of the journalism institutions, and their determinants in covering the
pandemic.
